November 16, 2010 – New telemedicine technology allows physicians to transfer digitally captured patient sounds in real time. The Littman Scope-to-Scope Tele-Auscultation System, by 3M, can literally enable a doctor in Minnesota to detect a heart murmur in a child in rural Arizona.

The system works with the company’s Littman Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200.

“As telemedicine increases in scope and usage, so does the need for high-quality equipment,” said Eric Henley, M.D., of North Country HealthCare in Flagstaff, Ariz., which has been conducting a study using the system. “With this technology, we are now able to offer our underserved patients the same level of diagnostic care that patients can obtain in a traditional face-to-face visit without requiring them to travel.”

In the past, tele-auscultation was limited by poor sound quality and unfamiliar stethoscope equipment. The Littmann Scope-to-Scope Software eliminates these challenges with intuitive technology and advanced sound quality. Clinicians anywhere in the country can simultaneously listen and consult on patient sounds from one stethoscope to another.

The software is paired with 3M’s Bluetooth-enabled, wireless electronic stethoscope that allows a clinician across the globe to clearly detect difficult-to-hear body sounds.

The stethoscope features ambient noise reduction technology, which eliminates approximately 85 percent of distracting background noises without filtering out critical body sounds. It also has sound amplification, frictional noise reduction technology that reduces handling sounds, and extended sound range frequency.